Genderswitch - Malec
by nomundanes
Summary: What would their first meeting and first date have looked like if Magnus and Alec had been women? Much inspired by the original story ('cause I just love it), but with a few twists. All the characters have switched gender. - Alex is in love with her parabatai Jacey, but then she meets the appealing warlock Magnolia. (It is more fluff than smut, but rating it M just to be sure)


"You still haven't told us how you got an invitation?" Alexandra asked, as they neared Brooklyn. They had spent all day fighting a horde of Ravener demons, and they had no idea who had sent them, and quite frankly Alex didn't really feel like going to a party to get information. They should just wait till the morning; perhaps it would prove effective to question the warlock if she was hung-over.

"I got it from a friend?" Isidore said it more like a question, as if he was trying out his own lie. He'd probably gotten it from one of the Downworlders he'd fooled around with. Alex didn't like the idea of her brother fooling around with half-demons, when it had taken their ancestors decades to regain respect after the demon pox incident in the 19th century. But at least Izzy's girls were only half-demons, Alex told herself.

"Personally, I could do with a party. I got green saliva all over me, it was a nightmare to get it off," Jacelyn said. Alex looked back at her parabatai, whom she'd helped clean up afterwards. Looking past Jacey, she remembered they had brought the mundanes.

"I don't understand why we're bringing them?" Alex remarked. Sure, Clay was a Shadowhunter by blood, but he'd been raised as a mundane, and his mundane girl friend wouldn't exactly be of any help, quite the opposite actually.

"Magnolia knows Clay, it will help us convince her to let us in if the invitation doesn't suffice," Jacey shrugged. Alex didn't like the way Jacey looked at Clay – it was his fault that Jacey had gotten saliva all over her, because she had to protect him and ended up underneath the Ravener. Sure Simone had been pretty badass for a mundane to just help them out, but that didn't mean Alex liked her.

"And what about the mundane?" she shot Simone a look.

"I'm not leaving Simone alone before we know for sure who they were after," Clay said firmly.

"I hope for their sake that next time they send something worse, I mean, I saw one of them stab itself in the neck with its own tail. Not really a bright creature, if you ask me," Simone said. Simone was a dorky Jewish girl with glasses, who thought her sarcasm was above everyone else's. Ravener demons were plenty bad.

"Yeah, well nobody asked you, so there's that," Alex rolled her eyes.

They arrived at an apartment building, which matched with the address on the invitation. Izzy pressed the buzzer and a young woman with black hair and golden cat eyes opened the door. She looked bored, until she noticed Clay.

"Clay?"

"Magnolia, we need your help," Clay began. The woman leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. She was wearing a long deep purple cardigan that almost reached the floor, and a short tight black and grey glittered bandage dress underneath it. She was rather tall, which her heels emphasized. Alex imagined she would be around the same size as her without the heels.

"This is a party," Magnolia replied indifferently.

"And we don't want to intrude…" Clay said, while Magnolia's eyes travelled over the group, before landing on Alex. Alex's heart skipped a beat, but the girl didn't seem to notice as she held her gaze.

"Fine, you can come inside, but only because of the cute one," she smirked.

"Thank you," Izzy and Jacey said in unison. Magnolia rolled her eyes.

"I meant the one with the blue eyes," she said as she turned around and went inside. Everyone looked back at Alex, who was trying to remember how to breathe regularly, and offered them a shrug and half a smile. The others followed her inside, and Alex caught at her brother's jacket and dragged him so they were a bit behind, as they all walked up the stairs.

"We could have gone to any warlock in New York, but you decided we should go to a lesbian warlock?" she whispered with accusation. Surely her brother had ulterior motives, they had never discussed the fact that Alex did get a certain tingling feeling around Jacey, because she hoped deeply that none of them noticed, but what if Izzy had noticed?

"I didn't pick you as a homophobe, Alex. Besides, I hear she's omnisexual or pansexual or whatever it's called," he shrugged.

"I'm not…" But her brother had already caught up to the others.

Inside they were met by almost every kind of Downworlders, except Alex didn't see any werewolves, but then again it would probably be a bad idea to have vampires and werewolves under the same roof for a party.

"Make yourself at home," Magnolia said. Alex heard Isidore lean closer to Simone and warn her about the colored drinks. Clay and Jacey had followed Magnolia, and Alex hurried after them. They went into a bedroom, where Magnolia sat down on a huge bed.

"How can I help?" she asked, but it didn't seem like she was very happy about being of any help.

"We were attacked by a pack of Ravener demons, and we are trying to find out who summoned them," Jacey explained.

"I see, and you thought I might know who did it?"

"More like we hope you know something."

Alex kept in the background as usual, observing the warlock and her movements. She was used to just shadowing Jacey. Magnolia, on top of having cat's eyes, seemed to also have the elegance of a cat.

"I try not to get involved with Shadowhunter business," Magnolia shrugged.

"How do you know if it was Shadowhunter business?"

"You said they attacked you? Unless they were after that useless mundane out there, which is highly unlikely, I'd say it's someone with a vendetta against you Shadowhunters," she suggested with a casualness that almost amazed Alex. Jacey looked at Clay, whose hands had formed into fists, but he kept calm. He really did seem to get offended a lot on behalf of his friend.

"It could be our father?" Jacey said.

"He's not my father," Clay snapped and stormed out of the room. Jacey went after him. Alex felt Magnolia's eyes on her, and noticed she had a sort of predatory look in her eyes.

"Okay," Alex said, feeling uncomfortable and left the room as well.

…

On the way home Jacey and Clay were arguing about something that Alex was sure she didn't care about. They were starting to sound like siblings, which she found rather amusing. Alex and Izzy could argue like that as well sometimes, but as they got older the fights were significantly less.

"Magnolia seemed to be interested in you?" Izzy said as they walked ahead of the others.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, the way she looked at you, almost as if she was undressing you in her mind."

"Okay, that's enough. What are you doing?" Alex stopped and looked up at her brother.

"I thought you two would hit it off. I'm sorry if my comment earlier offended you, I know you're not a homophobe, I was just trying to provoke you into admitting… something," he said calmly. Alex was breathing hard now, and her pulse was ringing in her ears. Why was he doing this? "I was obviously wrong, I'm sorry I tried to help."

"Don't ever try to help me again, okay?"

"Okay." He actually looked defeated. Alex didn't care; her sexuality was none of his business. Even if she did find the warlock attractive, it wouldn't be right – a Shadowhunter and a warlock would be an abomination. She knew her brother and maybe even Jacey had been with pixies and fairies and other half-breeds, but Alex wasn't like them, despite being the oldest one she was the least experienced, because she didn't think she could fool around with someone and not have it mean something. She might be old-fashioned like that, but that's how it was.

Jacey and Clay had caught up to them by now.

"Where's Simone?" Clay wondered, looking around.

"I saw a vampire flirt with her," Isidore shrugged.

"What?!"

"He was attractive, if that helps?" he tried.

"It doesn't! Why didn't you say anything?" Clay was accusing Izzy, although it seemed that he was angrier with himself for having walked this far without realizing his friend wasn't with them. "We have to go back for her," he looked at Jacey. With a sigh she nodded in agreement.

"I'll go with you. I'll see you guys at home?"

"What? No…" Alex tried to object, but they were already on their way back.

…

It had been days since the party and they still hadn't found a clue to who had sent the demons after them, or why. They were running in circles, and Alex's head was spinning. The others seemed to be fine, despite the fact that it probably had more to do with them than it did to Alex. It had to be Valentine, but they weren't sure how or even where he was. He could be anywhere, and he didn't seem to like to strike twice within a short time. From what she gathered he liked to wait for just the right time to strike again, because the waiting would drive them insane and paranoid, but the others didn't seem too paranoid about it. Perhaps her problem was that she didn't have any other distractions like they did. Clay was busy fussing over Simone, who had made out with a vampire at the party, but no harm had seemed to come from it. Jacey was busy distracting herself from Clay, and Isidore, well he always had something or some_one_ to distract himself with.

She looked around at her friends. The three of them had just come back from a patrol, and despite the tiredness she felt from it, she didn't feel like going to sleep.

"I'm going for a walk," she got up, grabbed an apple and walked towards the door.

"I'll come with you?" Jacey offered.

"No, it's fine. I just need some fresh air…" she said, realizing how dumb that sounded when they'd just been outside all day. "…that doesn't include worrying about demons."

Jacey just answered with a shrug, and didn't seem to look suspicious at all, so Alex left the Institute and started heading towards Brooklyn. On the way there she had enough time to think about what a stupid idea it was for her to go see a warlock by herself – not that she was afraid of warlocks, but more because she wasn't sure she could trust herself around this specific warlock. By the time she reached the apartment, her palms were sweaty. She wiped them off quickly in her sweater, and pressed the buzzer before she could have second thoughts.

"_Magnolia the Magnificent Warlock of Brooklyn, can I help you?_" a voice said. Was this how she answered her door? Alex leaned closer to the door.

"Erh, hi, it's me. I mean – it's Alex. Alex Lightwood?" She cursed herself for saying her own name as a question, who did that?

"_Alex?_"

The door made a buzzing sound and Alex opened it. She took two steps at a time, and when she reached the top, Magnolia was waiting by the door.

"Is something wrong? Did something happen?" the girl wondered, and Alex thought she detected a bit of worry.

"No, everything is fine, no more demon attacks so far."

"Oh, that's good." Of course Magnolia was confused as to why a Shadowhunter was at her apartment, and frankly Alex was a bit confused herself and seemed to have some difficulty finding words. "Do you need my services?"

"No, actually… are you alone? Can I come inside?" she looked up into the golden eyes, and the girl hesitated for a moment, before stepping back into the apartment. It looked different from the other night, when it had been filled with Downworlders. It almost looked like a typical home now, as typical a home as a loft could be. Magnolia sat down on a white leather chaise longue, and Alex sat down awkwardly on the couch. Something moved at the corner of Alex's eyes, and for a short moment she was about to panic, but then a grey cat jumped up onto the couch and lay down next to her. Magnolia furrowed her brow.

"That's odd," she said.

"What, it's not your cat?"

"Yes, but he doesn't normally like people," she mused.

"We have a cat at the Institute, maybe he can sense it."

"Perhaps," she said and bit her lower lip, inspecting Alex from the distance. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I…" Alex swallowed the lump in her throat. "I was wondering if maybe… you would…"

"I would what?" she wondered with amusement.

"Well, Isidore said he noticed you looking at me," she tried another angle.

"Did he now?"

"He said it was because you liked me."

"Alexandra, have you come to accuse me of staring?"

"No! That's not… this was probably a bad idea. I'm just gonna go now," she said and stood up. Magnolia grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her down to sit on the couch just opposite her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't making fun of you. Please continue," she smiled sweetly.

"Would you go out with me?" she said in a hurried voice.

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why would you want me to go out with you?" Magnolia asked. Alex felt her pulse racing.

"I don't have a hidden agenda for asking you out on a date," Alex said, feeling a bit hurt that she would even imply it.

"No, you don't, do you?" she bit her lip again, while thinking. "I've known Lightwoods for decades, and if you'd asked me just twenty years ago if I would even consider dating one of them, I would have laughed, but you're different, aren't you?"

"You know my family?" Alex felt a slight panic, both hoping that this would never get back to her parents and also hoping that the family's past wouldn't be a problem.

"Yes, a very proud family at that, not that they have much to be proud of, no offence."

"So is that a no?"

"No. It's not. I'm just trying to figure out why you would want to go out with me, not that I'm not highly desirable, obviously. I know your brother fools around with half-demons, but you seem more reserved," she seemed to be thinking out loud. Alex didn't know how to answer her speculative non-question.

"I just thought since Izzy said you like girls, I…"

"Does anyone know that _you_ like girls?" she wondered and Alex's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't talked to anyone about it before, and she was still getting used to the thought of it.

"No. Well, I suppose Izzy have figured it out somehow."

"What about Jacey? She's your best friend, right?"

"My parabatai, but I don't want her to know," Alex admitted. It was different for Shadowhunters, they had been so far ahead of mundanes in terms of gender equality, but they had been stuck with the same norms for ages now, and homosexuality still wasn't well received in their circles, even if it was changing in the mundane world.

"Okay," the other girl said out of the blue.

"Okay?"

"Okay, I'll go on a date with you. How's Friday?"

"Really?" Alex couldn't help but feel a bit astonished.

"Yes, really. Now don't take it back. I'll make some plans for us," she said.

"Alright," Alex smiled. They were silent for a short moment. "I should probably leave now," she said and stood up.

"Friday?"

"I'll pick you up at eight?"

"Good," Magnolia gave her wry smile, and opened the door for her. Alex passed the warlock and ran down the stairs with a new kind of nervousness.

…

Friday had been so far away, and nothing had happened the past few days, so of course they would find themselves fighting a pack of Drevak demons Friday evening, probably sent by Valentine as spies. With some effort Jacey and Alex had killed them and sent them back to their own dimension, but as Alex walked towards Brooklyn, hoping the smell of the Drevak would disappear as she walked in the evening air, her runes started to wear off and she felt a sting in her shoulder. Reaching around to see what it was, she felt a needle stick out of her skin. She panicked because she was already closer to Brooklyn than the Institute; she made a quick decision to be a most repelling date by showing up wounded. It was probably too much to expect Magnolia to help her treat it, but the pain kept increasing, and spreading around her shoulder. She needed treatment as soon as possible.

She pressed the buzzer, and Magnolia's voice sounded indifferent when she answered it.

"_I thought you had gotten cold feet?_"

"I'm sorry I'm late. Please let me in?" Alex felt out of breath, her energy now almost drained. She had to hold herself up by the balustrade. Magnolia opened the door just as Alex reached it and she practically fell into her arms.

"Alex!" she exclaimed and held her up.

"I'm sorry. Could you maybe take a look at my shoulder?"

Magnolia dragged her onto the couch and found something for the venom, but Alex didn't get to see what she did, before everything went black…

…different sounds were playing in the background, as Alex was able to focus again. She was still on Magnolia's couch, and when she looked up she saw the TV was on and Magnolia sat in the chaise longue with the cat in her lap.

"You know, you should have just called and said you were hurt, I might not have believed you, but it would be a legit reason to postpone a date," Magnolia said with amusement. Alex sat up.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you said that at least fifteen times already." She didn't seem mad, which was a good sign at least.

"I didn't realize I was hit before I was halfway here," Alex admitted.

"You didn't notice the Drevak needle in your shoulder?" Now she looked impressed. "Well, it did hit you right on top of your healing rune, so that's probably why."

"Probably," she said and looked down at herself, realizing she was wearing a new shirt in much better quality than what she was used to. "Did you change my shirt?"

"I had to, the other one was ruined," she shrugged. "Don't worry, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Well, except maybe from that sports bra," she grinned.

"Shit, I'm the worst date ever!" she exclaimed, ignoring her urge to object about the sports bra – it was convenient for hunting.

"I wouldn't count this as a date. We missed our reservation by two hours," she smiled softly.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, and tell me how you're feeling?" she asked, and Alex was shortly taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm guessing that means you're not in pain anymore?"

"Oh, no I'm not. Thank you," she said, feeling sincere about it. It wasn't the most difficult venom to treat, and she was surprised she had even been hit, because usually Jacey would have killed the entire pack of Drevaks way before they got a chance to attack.

"You're welcome."

"Should I leave? I feel like I ruined it," Alex had never felt so uncomfortable before, and now that she was getting her focus back she noticed the silk dress Magnolia was wearing – it was four different kinds of purple and it fit her body perfectly, showing off the tan skin on her shoulders.

"You didn't ruin it. To be honest I was afraid you would be boring," she admitted.

"So passing out on your couch doesn't count as boring?" Alex wasn't trying to be funny, but Magnolia let go a short laugh as if she couldn't hold it back.

"Showing up on a first date with a poisonous needle in your shoulder is anything but boring."

"Good to know, maybe next time I'll show up with a Raum tooth in the other shoulder," she said, now trying to be funny.

"Let's try to avoid that," Magnolia said. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Sure," she said, and didn't get to say another word, before a warm cup appeared in her hand, surprise almost causing her to spill.

"Careful, I don't know if I can provide any more shirts, so next time you ruin one you'll have to borrow a dress," she said and Alex wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. If she was mocking her it wasn't very nice, a warlock should know that Shadowhunters always wore pants, because most dresses would make it more difficult to fight demons. "So tell me," Magnolia leaned forward in the chair, causing the cat to jump off her lap. "Did you at least get the demon just as good as it got you?"

"Jacey got most of them, I got a few," she shrugged. Magnolia seemed to be thinking of something. "What?"

"The Lightwoods I knew would never give up an opportunity of taking credit for something," she explained.

"Oh."

"Can I ask you something, Alex?"

"Of course." She felt safe suddenly, in Magnolia's company. It was a calm she hadn't felt for weeks, not since before they had found out that Valentine was alive and that Jacey was actually his daughter, and not Michael Wayland's.

"Since no one knows you're a lesbian, does that mean that this was supposed to be your first date ever?" Alex looked down at her hands. Would this disqualify her for a date? She had already screwed up plenty, even if Magnolia was extremely polite to tell her otherwise.

"Yes. I've never been on a date before. I've never even as much as kissed anyone," she admitted.

"Really? Well, we can't have that," she answered and got up just to sit down next to Alex, who leaned back a bit. The two golden cat eyes studied Alex's face, before closing the distance with lips on lips. Alex closed her eyes, and her hands went around the other girl's back reflexively. She could almost feel Magnolia's skin through the thin silk. With her heart in her throat, she kissed her back, knowing she wasn't very good at it, but her lips tasted too good to give up. Alex felt Magnolia's hands cup her face, and despite the tremble in her own hand she let it wander down the girl's lower back and over her legs, until she reached the part where the dress stopped just above the knee, surprised that she would even notice the difference between the silk of the dress and Magnolia's silky skin. When Magnolia drew back from the kiss, they were both breathing harder than usual. Getting back to reality, Alex noticed her hand on Magnolia's thigh and removed it instantly. A smirk formed across the other girl's face. Everything inside of Alex felt like a storm – a storm of butterflies, maybe a butterfly hurricane even.

"Now you've been kissed," Magnolia smiled, her lips glistened. "Still like girls?" Alex thought anyone would be crazy to not like a girl like Magnolia, straight or gay. Instead of answering, she put her hand up to cup Magnolia's cheek and drew her in for another kiss, which she meant to be soft and quick, but once her other hand made contact with the silk she couldn't help herself from pulling her closer and lifting her up onto her lap. Magnolia might as well have been naked, because Alex could feel everything just beneath the surface of the fabric, and Magnolia's body moved with every touch, sometimes making little noises at the back of her throat, telling Alex that maybe she was crossing the line for what was appropriate for a first date, but then again Magnolia didn't break off the kiss. At some point they managed to lie down on the couch, without having to stop kissing. Alex could feel Magnolia's breasts just underneath her own – normally she would be wearing a thicker sweater, but the thin material of the borrowed shirt made the friction almost unbearable. She wanted to brush her hands up her legs, but she stopped just before the dress, not wanting to go too far or do something to screw it up.

"Alex," Magnolia breathed. "Alex, just wait."

Despite her unwillingness she sat up on the couch, and leaned away from the other girl.

"I didn't mean… okay," Magnolia seemed to collect herself, which at least gave Alex some satisfaction; it proved it hadn't been that bad. "I don't want us to move too fast. It's your first kiss, I don't want to pressure you."

"You're not pressuring me. I don't feel it that way. Although that dress is a bit of a challenge," she said, blushing when she realized what she'd said out loud. A wicked smile crossed Magnolia's face.

"But we should still just take a moment to think for a second. I wouldn't hesitate if it was anyone else, but…"

"Oh," Alex felt her confidence go down at least four notches.

"I didn't mean it like that, I meant to say that I wouldn't hesitate with someone random, but you're not random at all. Alexandra, do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" The girl looked into her eyes, and Alex forgot to breathe for a moment.

"I am?" What she really wanted to say was how beautiful Magnolia was, but she figured she already knew that. No one without an immense amount of confidence would wear that dress.

"Yes, you're gorgeous. And you're only the second interesting Shadowhunter I've ever met, and that's quite a lot of Shadowhunters before you," she admitted.

"The second you say?"

"That's another story, for another time," she smiled secretively.

"So are you sending me home?"

"I'm not sending you home, I just…" she hesitated, cutting herself short.

"Yeah, I should probably go home," Alex decided and stood up, at the same time as Magnolia. She was just an inch taller than Alex. She leaned in for a quick kiss, but it ended up being anything but quick. Alex's hands pressed against the smooth fabric on Magnolia's back, and Magnolia's hands ended up under Alex's shirt making her jump from the coldness of her fingers against her warm skin. She felt brave and brushed her own hand up under the dress and touched the smooth stomach underneath it. The other girl breathed against her mouth, sending a signal to her own brain reminding her to breathe. When Magnolia leaned closer against her something triggered inside Alex, and she knew she had to stop before they went further, because she wouldn't want to stop then. When she broke away from Magnolia it wasn't just by one step, it was by several and she was almost at the door.

"Should we try to have a real date? Friday?" Alex asked. Hoping. Magnolia hesitated for a moment, and it was long enough to drive Alex's mind insane with worry.

"Sure," she smiled, finally.

"Good," Alex smiled back, and closed the door behind her, before stumbling down the stairs.

…

Magnolia let herself fall down onto the couch after hearing the front door lock, covering her face with both palms.

"Shit," she said out loud. _I had one rule – no Shadowhunters._


End file.
